Love me dough

A taster's guide to Hanukkah donuts

By TALI MINSBERG & MELANIE LIDMAN
donuts (photo credit: Courtesy)
donuts
(photo credit: Courtesy)
From the dense to the fluffy, from the original jelly filling to vanilla pudding, this year’s sufganiyot have been evaluated and the results are in. So roll up your sleeves, unclog your arteries and prepare to celebrate Hanukkah by consuming your fair share of that longlasting, miraculous oil.
Every sufganiya packs 400 to 600 calories, meaning that an average-sized person needs to walk for more than two hours to burn off just one Hanukkah treat. Rather than subject you to sub-par sufganiyot and needless exercise, a team of Jpost judges and tasters patrolled the streets of the capital, covering neighborhoods high and low to hunt down the best sufganiya.
By the way, we weren't the only ones buying dozens of donuts; in 2008, the Manufacturers Association of Israel reported that sufganiyot sales increased by three percent, or approximately 18 million donuts, despite the recession. In 2007, sufganiyot sales fell by 4%. Go figure. So without further fanfare, here are the latest sufganiyot results for you:
1. ROLADIN Overall rating: 8.1 Dough: 7.8, Filling 7.2, Aesthetic 10. No surprises here; the fanciest sufganiyot in Israel also topped our list as the best. The bakery chain’s offerings are so varied they have a separate menu just for their sufganiyot, with calorie counts thoughtfully included. The dough was one of the lightest tasted and the gorgeous decorations on top make the donuts look more like works of art than fried goodness. There was not quite enough filling in the donut, but the exotic flavors certainly are appealing. Cost: NIS 4.5- NIS 8. Flavors: vodka melon, macciato, banana, halva, pistachio, pastry cream, chocolate whipped cream, chocolate chocolate, sprinkles, caramel, strawberry.
2. NE’EMAN BAKERY Overall rating: 7.6 Dough: 6.6; Filling: 8.3; Aesthetics: 8.3. From jelly to strawberry pudding filling, the sufganiyot at this popular coffee shop/bakery chain were a tasters’ favorite thanks to their beautiful presentation and unique flavors. Scoring an impressive 8.3 for both the filling and aesthetics, the Ne’eman sufganiyot were crowd pleasers. The only downside to these sufganiyot was the dough, which many said was “too oily.” Cost: NIS 4 - NIS 6. Flavors: Jelly, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and coffee/cappuccino.
3. BUREKAS IMA Overall rating: 6.7 Dough: 6.2; Filling: 7.1; Aesthetics: 6.5 .This bakery in the Jerusalem suburb of Talpiot is known for its wonderful challot and burekas. To the surprise of many, it is also home to some truly remarkable sufganiyot. The donuts were devoured quickly by tasters, who said that the sufganiyot had “the best filling, really genuine instead of artificial” with “real strawberries for sure” and “the most jelly per square inch.” Cost: NIS 3-NIS 5. Flavors: jelly, caramel.
4. MARZIPAN Overall rating: 6.3 Dough: 6.4; Filling: 5.9; Aesthetics: 6.9. Our favorite bakery for rugelach throughout the rest of the year continued its tradition of tasty dough with its sufganiyot. The bright colors and decorated frosting stood out on the table and the bakery’s selection of 10 different flavors makes it a destination for those adventurous souls in search of the next horizon of sufganiyot. “It looks nice, but I really wish the chocolate-frosted [donut] had a filling,” said one tester, adding that “the dough itself was delicious.” The dough was in fact delicious when it was fresh off the truck, but after sitting for an hour it was harder than the other donuts - perhaps because they are lower in preservatives. Cost: NIS 5. Flavors: pastry cream, vanilla crème, caramel, chocolate crème, chocolate frosted, strawberry, pistachio.
5. ENGLISH CAKE Overall rating: 5.8 Dough: 6.2; Filling: 4.9; Aesthetics: 5.6.To our surprise, English Cake was a disappointment for tasters, who said the sufganiyot tasted “artificial” and “not as fresh as the rest.” One taster had a bite and put the donut down, saying “This is horrible!” Nevertheless, many judges found that the dough had a nice texture and was not too oily. Cost: NIS 4-NIS 6. Flavors: jelly, caramel and more varieties appear throughout the hanukkah holiday.
6. LEHEM TUSHIA Overall rating: 5.6 Dough: 4.8; Filling: 5; Aesthetics: 5.7 This bakery on Rehov Aza had solidly average sufganiyot, though the smaller size was popular with health-conscious tasters, who agreed that most sufganiyot are too large to finish. “These sufganiyot taste the freshest,” said one taster, despite the fact that the bakery received the lowest score on dough. The donuts are baked at a factory on Kibbutz Mishmar David and are delivered to the store up to three times per day. Cost: NIS 5. Flavors: strawberry, butterscotch.
7. DUVSHANIT Overall rating: 5.3 Dough: 6.8; Filling: 5.1; Aesthetics: 5.8. Our judges either loved or hated Duvshanit’s honey-drizzled delicacies, which often attract swarms of bees to the trays in the shuk. “It had all the right proportions and it all gelled together,” said one taster. For the cost concious, these sufganiyot are good value at NIS 2.5 and are made on the premises. Still, in the taste category, they didn’t seem to dazzle the judges when compared to the city’s other offerings. Cost: NIS 2.5. Flavors: chocolate, vanilla, caramel and strawberry.
8. UGAT CHEN Overall rating: 5.3 Dough: 5.6; Filling: 2.6; Aesthetics: 5. This shuk staple fared poorly with our judges, especially the artificial filling, which squirted out a weird neon pink color, which was rather unsettling. These sufganiyot were the cheapest as well, practically the price of supermarket donuts, though they are actually baked fresh on the premises. We believe that when it comes to sufganiyot, quality comes with a higher price. Cost: NIS 2. Flavors: strawberry, chocolate frosting, vanilla frosting, strawberry frosting; NIS 3 for caramel.